


Birth Pains

by yuletide_archivist



Category: 10th Kingdom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-12-19
Updated: 2007-12-19
Packaged: 2018-01-25 08:39:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1642004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuletide_archivist/pseuds/yuletide_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the third trimester of a woman's pregnancy, the child puts on it's final weight and begins to move frequently.  But Virginia isn't just carrying a normal, human baby.  She's carrying a wolf, and the full moon is coming.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Birth Pains

**Author's Note:**

> I had originally intended this story to be much longer, but.well.we all get a little behind sometimes. I may be revisiting this piece in the future to flesh it out and add the bits that didn't make it into this version.
> 
> Written for verity

 

 

It started in small ways: a constant hunger, a growing like of rare meat, and a quickened heart rate. Slowly, the changes became more drastic. Virginia had always been a slim woman, petite in every way. Looking at herself in the mirror now, she was frequently worried that the weight of her distended belly would snap her spine in two. For a few frightening weeks, she had been concerned that she might be carrying twins, but, as Wolf had assured her, with his ear pressed close against her tight skin, there was only one heartbeat in there. Virginia wasn't sure what was more frightening; the prospect of carrying two children in her tiny body, or the thought of one child being so large.

The problem was, though Wolf had tried to reassure her in every way possible, he simply could not recall ever hearing of a cross species pairing like this. He was half wolf himself, but, to his knowledge, his kind had always banded together, mostly out of the hatred directed at them from all sides. And, as the months progressed, and her pregnancy became more and more straining, Virginia couldn't quell the growing horror that her frail human body wasn't going to be able to handle this.

As she entered her seventh month, Virginia truly began to panic. She'd felt minor stirrings from the child before, but now he (Wolf was so certain it would be a "he") was beginning to move in earnest. He was stronger than Virginia though possible, sending great rolling waves across her ever expanding stomach, and he never seemed to sleep. In all the pregnancy books she had read there had been warnings that great periods would pass where he would not move, but that was not the case. Most nights found Virginia sitting in her sway back chair with one hand on either side of her stomach, staring off into space as her skin rose and fell in odd, almost unnaturally violent movements. She tried not to cringe, but often failed. Wolf was hopeless in such situations. To him it was all normal, and his overwhelming enthusiasm every time his son gave a particularly vicious kick was almost as hard to bear as the pain itself. Virginia knew it was partly hormones and lack of sleep making her moody, but there was something underneath that. It was almost like a tiny hint of resentment that no one had warned her it would be like this...not just this particular child, but pregnancy itself. She felt so young and unprepared.

But nothing could prepare her for what was waiting at the end of the month. If she were being perfectly honest with herself, she probably should have seen it coming. Wolf basically had a routine down at this point. Whenever it was full moon time, he would disappear to someplace in Upstate New York. He was never very specific as to where, but he always assured her that it would be safe, and he'd be home in a few days. She supposed, later, that she might have thought about the possible dangers coming her way as she packed an extra pair of socks into his duffle bag, but all she really thought about was how much she hated seeing him go every month.

The first night of the full moon, Virginia began to sweat. She didn't feel hot herself, but she sweat all the same. Slowly, she became aware of an odd pain, like heart burn only lower. Her brow furrowed in concentration, she ran her fingers lightly over the taut skin of her stomach. The skin was warm, but strange. It felt less like it was her own body heat, and more like a drum head stretched over a blazing fire. Eyes widening, Virginia began to panic. She and Wolf had decided early on that it might not be a good idea to involve any New York doctors. How could you explain a potentially furry fetus to a big city OB/GYN? But now, more than ever, she wished she had someone to run to for help. Lacking any logical options, Virginia waddled to the bathroom. There was no dignified way left for her to move, it seemed. She was simply too big.

Having long since moved beyond the realm where she might have plausibly enjoyed a bath, Virginia had invested in a shower chair. Settling into its cold hard plastic, she winced, but sighed in relief at the same moment. Here was relief from her strange fever. Virginia did not reach for the warm water knob. With a grimace of determination, she turned on the shower, and spun the cold knob all the way around. The first few moments were hell. Freezing water battered against her already sensitive skin, causing her to body to shake and her teeth to chatter. But, as the torturous seconds ticked by, the shock eased, and Virginia settled back, letting the cold water sooth the heat inside her.

The next night was worse. The moon rose, full and bright, into the night sky over Manhattan. Sitting in her chair, Virginia watched out the window, waiting for...she didn't know what, but she didn't have to wait long. The moment the moon's light crept through the glass into her darkened living room, pain shot through her as though her blood itself had been electrified. Shaking, Virginia reached for the phone. When Wolf's need for weekends away had become apparent, she'd insisted he get a cell phone. It had taken weeks to teach him fully how to use it, but it was worth the effort. They had too many secret dangers to ever be out of contact for long. Halfway to the receiver, her hand curled into a fist. Virginia closed her eyes as another wave of pain radiated out through her body. Leaning back into her chair, she waited for it to ease.

Long minutes passed. For a few harrowing moments, Virginia was almost sure she felt her stomach expand, as though the child within it were growing even larger. But, eventually, it passed, leaving in its wake a hunger that Virginia had never felt before. It started deep down, as though she hadn't eaten in weeks. Drunkenly, she rose to her feet, swaying as she attempted to balance. Her phone call to Wolf completely forgotten, Virginia stumbled into the kitchen. She was ravenous.   
Throwing open the refrigerator door, she began grabbing food at random. Small Tupperware containers with various leftovers fell to the floor with flat, dull thuds. In a great sweeping motion, she pushed the useless items away, sending a carton of milk to the floor. It burst open in gouts of white liquid, but she didn't notice. Her eyes fell on a plastic wrapped package near the bottom of the fridge, and she knew instantly it was what she wanted. Two stakes sat smashed together in their deli tray. She hadn't bothered to put them in the freezer, having intended to marinate them the following day so Wolf would have something good to eat when he got home. He always liked to have some good meat when he got back. She always supposed that squirrels and rabbits were not exactly as filling as he might have liked.

With shaking hands, Virginia brought the Styrofoam tray up close to her face. She couldn't smell the blood through the plastic, but something about it had a profound effect. The baby seemed to turn somersaults in her stomach which brought her crashing to her knees with bone shaking fierceness. Kneeling there on the floor, she wasn't even entirely certain that she would be able to stand again without help. She clawed at the plastic covering the meat with hands that didn't seem to be her own. They ripped and clawed like wild things, reducing the plastic and Styrofoam to a mess of red tinted trash on the floor. Rivulets of blood trickled down into the pool of milk beside her, swirling in mesmerizing circles.

Somewhere, in the back of her mind, Virginia cried out in horror. But it was not her mind that was in control any longer. Though she was no wolf, a feral growl rose up to her throat from some maternal instinct unknown to ordinary, human women. Human she might still be, but she was no longer ordinary, and her child needed something no normal woman would have been able to give. Her fingers dug deep into the soft meat, sending rivers of pale blood sliding down her wrists. With the sharp smell of blood strong in her nose, Virginia sank her teeth into the raw meat. Her eyes closed tight as the pain in her abdomen eased. From the very first bite, the child seemed to calm. Each slick, blood coated bite slid down her throat with a satisfying heaviness. Within moments, she had eaten both strips of meat, leaving nothing but a bloody smear behind.

* * *

Wolf returned home the following day. The moment he stepped through the door, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end and a growl rumbled deep in his chest.

"Virginia?" he called, his voice betraying no panic though every instinct warned him that something was wrong with the woman he loved. He could smell blood, but it wasn't hers. And there was another odd smell, something stale and cold, and unclean. Following the scent, Wolf rounded the corner into the kitchen.

Virginia lay on the floor, looking tiny and vulnerable. Her face and hands were covered in old cow's blood, and he could smell the sharp tang of it on her breath as she gently exhaled. The stink came from the refrigerator, which still hung open, its light glowing dimly in the already bright kitchen. Spilled milk, now turned pink with blood, had soaked into the back of Virginia's nightgown.

"Huff puff..." he said in dismay. When wolves like himself had children, their offspring took their nutrients from their mother, like any other. It had never occurred to him that his child might need something Virginia wouldn't naturally give him. He bent down and carefully scooped Virginia into his arms. She was heavier than she had been. Carrying her gingerly towards the bedroom, Wolf bit his lip anxiously. She still had two months to go, and this was only going to get worse.

 


End file.
